How Housing Affects The Natural Env Flashcards
How much space and area of land needs to be cleared to make space for building houses? (Ignore?)
(world wildlife fund)
18.7 million acres of forests = 27 soccer fields every min
What are resources needed for? And how are they obtained?
Build homes and tools
Use fuel for cooking and warmth
(Natural resources) Extracted from environment (forests/ mining)
Land originally part of natural environment repurposed for human use
How much water do large cities use?
80 percent from surface sources
504 billion litres of water a day
How are resources used in cities? (5)
Electricity to power devices
Food to eat
Water for sanitation
Space to dispose waste
Open spaces for recreation
What does housing in cities do and lead to? (2) (ignore?)
- Promote high density living
- Increase resource demands made of any surrounding area
Where do wood, electricity, steel and water come from?
Wood: furniture from home usually made from wood which comes from the forest
Electricity: powers our appliances and comes from burning natural gas which needs to be extracted from the environment
Steel: reinforces our homes and is acquired through mining which takes a toll on the natural environment
Water: large cities obtain 80% of their water from water surface resources and use abt 504 billion litres of water a day
1 in 4 cities are water-stressed due to financial and geographical limitations
What is pollution?
The introduction of substances that do not normally belong in an environment
in great enough concentrations, can have harmful effects on plants, animals and humans
What is land pollution?
Soil contamination by factory chemicals, sewage or other wastewater
Garbage and industrial waste
Impact from mining and other forms of industry
Long term damage to land -> unsafe for building houses
How is large amount of waste managed? (specific to land pollution)
Many cities build landfills to dispose waste products or choose to incinerate waste to reduce space needed for disposal
Leftover materials from incineration still needs to be properly managed to avoid pollution
How can land and water pollution be minimised?
They can be minimised through proper waste management and the usage of natural fertilisers and pesticides instead of chemicals
Examples of water pollution (4?)
-surface runoff from streets: carry oil, rubber, heavy metals and other contaminants from vehicles
-untreated or poorly treated sewage: can be low in dissolved oxygen and high in pollutants such as faecal coliform, nitrates, phosphorus and other bacteria and chemicals
-treated sewage: can still be high in nitrates -> process of removing them from wastewater is prone to contamination
-alteration of water chemistry in water bodies: due to acid rain, nitrate deposition, ammonium deposition
Examples of air pollution (2)
Burning of fossil fuels for energy use and production
Emissions from industries and motor vehicles
Some ways to reduce air pollution (2)
- Increasing public transport ridership
- Increased use of solar energy
Suggest how high concentration of people contributes to pollution
Same number of people and same volume of waste may not create a problem if it came from 10 smaller cities or 10 smaller towns
-high concentration of people in an area -> high concentration of waste products
-when crudely disposed of, waste products create water or land pollution
Example of urbanisation as an effective way to help people live in cities efficiently
New York City has the lowest environmental footprint of any city in the USA
-people there have smaller homes
-greater use of public transportation
